Sentinel Program Advances with Silo Prototype: A Major Step Toward Modernizing America's Nuclear Triad

The LGM-35A Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile program is rapidly moving from digital design to tangible reality, marked by a recent groundbreaking for a full-scale launch silo prototype in Promontory, Utah — a key step in modernizing the land-based leg of the nation's nuclear triad. Minot Air Force Base

Developed in partnership with prime contractor Northrop Grumman and construction firm Bechtel, the silo prototype will validate a modular, repeatable construction approach designed to accelerate fielding, reduce cost growth, and enable learning before full-rate production begins. Minot Air Force Base Notably, the Sentinel project calls for building a network of entirely new silos rather than placing the new missiles inside the hundreds of existing Minuteman III silos.

The silo prototype builds on a series of recent milestones, including ongoing construction of a new Wing Command Center at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming, and successful testing of all propulsive elements of the Sentinel missile — including test firings of all three stages and a hot fire test of the post boost propulsion system — as the program advances toward a planned 2027 flight test. Minot Air Force Base

Program leadership emphasized the significance of this step. Brig. Gen. William S. Rogers, Air Force program executive officer for intercontinental ballistic missiles, stated that the prototype is a critical step in proving the design and reducing risk before production, and that the program is executing a disciplined acquisition strategy to deliver a fully integrated, operational weapon system on schedule. AFGSC

A second round of prototyping is planned for this summer at F.E. Warren AFB, where teams will test utility corridor construction methods to streamline the installation of thousands of miles of secure infrastructure. Initial operational capability is targeted for the early 2030s, with a minimum 15-year overlap expected between the first Sentinel silo going online and the last Minuteman III being decommissioned.

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